Lift the Ban on Gun Research

The title is rather self-fulfilling. Good policy is structured on good data; we wouldn’t want to pass laws that weren’t going to be effective. Congress needs to lift the ban on gun-related research. Now.

20 years ago, Congress passed a law prohibiting the Center for Disease Control (the CDC) from researching gun violence, claiming that gun violence “is not a disease.” That would be reasonable, until we realize that the CDC does research on car accidents, air and ventilation systems, and even natural disasters.

The point of gathering data is to make sure the policies we create are indeed effective. If we find that the majority of mass shootings are due in part because the shooters had previous history of mental illness and still could obtain a gun, we should probably pass a law. But we won’t be able to claim our new gun policies will be effective until we actually get the data.

The most important part about this research is that it will (most likely) disprove claims on both sides of the isle and bring the debate about gun control out of a fantasy world and into reality.